2015 - 9/17 to 9/25 - Freeport, Grand Bahamas - Part 1

9/17 -We arrived & anchored in the Grand Lucayan Waterway (Grand Bahamas) about 5pm. 

Digital chart of our anchorage in the waterway

This waterway was created as a shortcut from North to the South end of the island & designed to have hundreds, if not thousands, of water front homes...there are some who built homes, but, it didn't work out as planned for some reason. (see below for quoted history by Michael Craton)

Taken from the web, an Ariel view of the south entrance

 

This is the 2nd time we entered the waterway with a storm brewing

Here's a bit of history from the web that partly explains why the expats left the Island in a hurry leaving property's & homes abandoned:

"...Many expatriates settled in Freeport City during the 60s. Noted historian Michael Craton has pointed out in his groundbreaking book, Pindling: The Life and Times of the First Prime Minister of The Bahamas, that many white Americans from the southern states also migrated to the second city during the 60s.
Many of these white Americans were racist. There were allegations back then that many of the white expatriates in Freeport practiced discrimination against black Bahamians. Black Bahamians were not welcomed in the city. In fact, it was very difficult for the average black Bahamian to rent an apartment in Freeport during the 60s.
While the white citizens of Freeport City lived in nice houses with modern amenities, many black Bahamians were relegated to the grossly underdeveloped settlements of Hunters, Pinder’s Point, Lewis Yard, Eight Mile Rock, Williams Town, Smith’s Point, High Rock, McLean’s Town, Holmes Rock and West End.
Many of the houses in these settlements were dilapidated. The residents in these impoverished communities lacked even basic amenities like running water and electricity. Grand Bahama in the 50s and 60s was truly an island of two extremes. While many black Bahamians lived in squalor, the expatriates in Freeport lived in prosperity.
After the PLP (Progressive Liberal Party) defeated the UBP (United Bahamian Party) in 1967, the new government pledged to open the door of the city of Freeport for black Bahamians. Prime Minister Lynden O. Pindling also vowed to revise the Hawksbill Creek Agreement. Up until this point in its young history, Freeport had been a segregated city.
The PLP wanted to Bahamianize Freeport. Many of the white expatriates were against this. This crisis came to a head in a controversial speech PM Pindling delivered on July 26, 1969 at the official opening of BORCO. In 1969 Groves sold his interest in the Port Authority to Benguet International for $80 million. In 1978 Groves sold his interest in the Port Authority to Intercontinental Diversified Corporation for $38 million.
In this famous ”Bend or Break” speech, PM Pindling warned the Port and its group of licensees that his PLP government would end their discriminatory practices. Pindling stated in his speech that if the Port Authority refused to bend it would be broken (Michael Craton). Many of the expatriates and licensees in Freeport became alarmed after hearing PM Pindling’s moving speech.
In fact, many of these expatriates began leaving Grand Bahama in droves. Analysts have blamed the PLP for the ensuing recession that hit Freeport in the early 1970s. They believe that Pindling’s ”Bend Or Break” speech had precipitated the devastating recession. Even the two PLP MPs for Grand Bahama, Maurice Moore and Warren Levarity, had blamed Pindling for Freeport’s economic woes". (more history to come in separate blogs called "history")

Since it was early & still light out, we toured in & out some of the canals to check out the homes.

 

If we were ever to build or buy, this would be our favorite style of home

Construction started on so many homes but never completed.

This hotel, nearly completed, has been abandoned. (you can see 'hotel ruins' in the chart above)

We left the water way, headed west & found the channel leading to the canal that goes to Island Seas Resort. The resort knew we were coming by boat because we reserved a dock.  We called them on the VHF but no response from the 'marina'. We thought it was a working marina - it was not. The finger piers were so short, our dinghy could barely fit...with no one around to help or direct us, we tied up to their sea wall & made ourselves at home. I checked us into the Resort (on the 18th) & we were assigned a lovely, beach front condo. 

 Shame, they lost most of their beach since I was last there in 2013

When we bought the time shares in 2011, we were told we could bring the dogs. Guess things changed & now they said, "no dogs in the condo"...just great! now what do we do? 
We'll keep the pups in the condo, of course but we never left them alone which meant we didn't go to the pool or swim in the ocean. Wayne did walk them down the beach & they joined us for happy hour most nights. 
I was disappointed this trip as they didn't have a social director for all the activities listed &, of course, the dog issue...& the staff wasn't as friendly as last time. 

Taken from the web, a bit more history about Grand Bahama;

"Over the centuries, Grand Bahama Island has existed under the rule of Spain, the United States and ultimately England. The earliest inhabitants of Grand Bahama Island were Siboney Indians, a people who subsisted on conch and fishing. The few remains uncovered—mostly artifacts of shells and jewelry--suggest that the Siboney were here 7,000 years ago. They vanished and were replaced by another Caribbean group, the Lucayans. When Christopher Columbus "stumbled upon" the islands, giving them the name Baja Mar, or "Shallow Sea," there were 4,000 Lucayans living on Grand Bahama Island. History describes the Lucayan as a peaceful, advanced civilization with well-organized cities and a gracious hospitality who migrated to the Bahamas from the West Indies.
The development of Grand Bahama Island from an isolated hideaway for buccaneers into a sought-after tourist destination was driven primarily by the vision of American businessman, Wallace Groves. During the early 1950s, Groves, in partnership with British financier Sir Charles Hayward, negotiated with the Government of the Bahamas for 50,000 acres of land to create a "port area," giving birth to the City of Freeport.
About 50,000 people live on Grand Bahama Islands, though most were born on other islands throughout the Bahamas. The population is comprised predominately of the descendants of West Africans brought to the Bahamas to work as slaves on the island's cotton plantations and decedents of the early English settlers who established those early plantations in the Bahamas".

I found the history of Freeport intriguing. I searched & searched the internet until I found an amazing site with interesting information. I created a few blogs called "History" part one, Part two etc. Look for them as separate blogs which I'll publish soon.
They are a long read, but, in my opinion, worth the time. 
Hope you enjoy.